Sunday 31 August 2014

Our Beautiful World

Where to begin...initially my mind flew to seeds in their pods as I like to collect them. There is such a huge variety of types and sizes...here are just a few in my vase.
This foxtail palm has a massive bunch hanging from the top...over the years of living in the tropics I have come to dislike them as the fall to the base of the tree and before long you have hundreds more growing

And where we live now we have a weed lawn bearing these seed heads that blow off in the wind, a bit like the dandelions we used to blow as a child.
BUT of course seeds feature in our food....here in some fruit is season at the moment. Of course we don't eat the pawpaw seeds but down they go quickly if they're kiwifruit or passionfruit.
One of my favourite the avocado...with the large seed inside.
And in the pantry among so many are the aromatic Cardamon seeds and another favourite - Poppy seeds
Lots happening at our place this Sunday...moving house tomorrow, but if you have a moment join in at Our Beautiful World and share your photos. Visit the other team member blogs...
Manuela - Elasdistrict
Cheers Robyn


Make Today Beautiful...Celebrate

DSC00622A last minute post before I pack all my craft gear in the car for the big move tomorrow. So glad I got to make a card and this tag yesterday for Tim Holtz,s - 12 tags for 2014, August.
Once again I've improvised when I don't have the right elements but I'm pretty happy with the end result...I didn't have printed tissue tape so I stamped on the tag and stuck Magic tape of it and it worked well to take the Archival Ink and resist the distress inks.  Thanks for taking a peek Robyn

Saturday 30 August 2014

Merry Monday

Not to miss a chance stamp/skyping with my friend Vikki, I made sure most of my packing was done so Saturday would be free.  I left my crafting stuff accessible and so have made a quick Christmas card. I found this lovely designer paper when looking for something else and knew that it would suit this weeks Merry Monday #123 challenge - to incorporate a wreath on your card. I lightly stamped some Christmas text on the back panel, stamped, embossed and fussy cut the wreath, added a bow and a few gems and mounted it on a small layered panel. Then to finish I added a sentiment strip. Thanks for taking a peek Robyn

Friday 29 August 2014

Friday Smiles

Share a smile...
 Hello Friday Smilers....this is my craft room today...nearly all packed up for the big move on Monday....so I'm smiling as I've left all the good stuff accessible so I can make a fathers' day card this afternoon. I know Annie at A Stitch in Time who hosts Friday Smiles may not be posting today having just moved herself and getting set up but I am pretty pleased with my packing efforts this week so figured I could share a pic.

Cheers and thanks for taking a peek Robyn

Wednesday 27 August 2014

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday?

..in my opinion!Hello fellow desk hopper from my topsy turvey house....the big move is next Monday and so far I'm doing well...but it's time to stop today (4pm) I've had enough and need a cuppa and ANZAC bickie and a bit of blog hopping with Julia and the WOYWW 273 gals.   This is my craft room about an hour ago, it's doesn't look as messy as it really is and I suppose I'm half sorted.
 Here's the kitchen yesterday, the second biggest packup and I can happily say it is done except for those bits you need to still eat and the need to boil the kettle. All the other rooms are complete but one does have to manoeuvre around boxes and crates.  I won't show you the dining table which is covered with those odd bits and bobs you collect or that won't fit in boxes - I hate those bits you gather as the pile seems to grow and then you end up with enough to fill another box.
I did find time on Monday to make my first ever batch of Strawberry Jam...they're in season and  remarkably cheap and hubby's looking at me coming home with two punnets at a time so I said I was making jam....luck I did read the recipe as it said to use a large pot (I only used 1kg) or I'd have had to clean up a lot of burnt jam....it's wasn't difficult at all. 
Thanks for taking a peek, I see how many visits I can make this afternoon and thanks to everyone who dropped by last week and left me a happy comment....join in the fun, just pop over to Julias blog for details.  See you next week from Gladstone. Cheers  Robyn

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Happy Birthday

Hi there today, it's been a bit busy with me packing to move house, but I promised myself I could make a card if I packed up the kitchen....so here I am finishing off a card I started yesterday.  I used the inspiration photo at Fusion Card Challenge - Bright Floral Celebration and I'm also playing along with a new challenge - The Cutting Edge Challenge #8, using dies from OLBA O36 (large flower), Joy Crafts 6002/0263 (foliage), Die-namics Upsey Daisies and Spellbinders Moroccan Accents (flower centers - used the cut out to sponge the centers of the white punch flowers). I created the green background panel with Distress Inks and Perfect Pearl Mist and finished the card with some mini buttons. Thanks for taking a peek Robyn

Sunday 24 August 2014

Our Beautiful World

Hello and hope you're enjoying your weekend and have had a chance to snap a few photos this week.  Manuela has suggested the prompt for Week 61 challenge at Our Beautiful World ....GATE



This is my mum standing outside Buckingham Palace Gates...how ornate they were even on the cold, wet day we visited in 2010...it brings back wonderful memories as I'd taken her to visit relatives she'd never met (both parents were from Scotland) in England and Scotland and then to return home to Australia to celebrate her 80th birthday with all the family.

Kensington Palace Gates in Kensington Gardens, also on our visit to UK...what a lovely park too.

Back at home in Yeppoon I went in search of a nostalgic picket fence gate with a cottage garden and quaint letterbox...so I didn't find too many front gates around here, mostly no front fences is the trend these days. But I did find these country gates just out of town
 This one even has a name... 
Most of all I loved this one...doesn't look like it gets much use but it was lopsided and draped with this glorious flowering vine.
 Thanks for dropping in to take a peek, hope you might also join in and share a photo, in the meantime please visit the other team members blogs to see their fabulous photos this week...
Ros, - Mikey's Mum
Manuela - Elasdistrict
Cheers Robyn 

Saturday 23 August 2014

with love



Isn't this just a lovely photo City Crafters #225 have as their inspiration this week.  I love these soft warm neutral shades...so I created another background with Distress Inks and lightly stamped script randomly and embossed a daisy border on the bottom. I used a tag from my bought stash and tied on some wool threads. Then finished off with an embossed sentiment and stamped butterfly.  Thanks for taking a peek Robyn

Happy Birthday

Oh dear I am out of my comfort zone with there being so much brown in this card, it's certainly different to what I imagined but I selected three similar colours to the CAS Colours & Sketches #88 palette and made the background again with Distress Inks and then found some designer paper to match for the lower strip.  I followed the layout at Freshly Made Sketches #150, added some lace trim, a couple of tags and some handmade flowers. Then to finish I stamped two sentiments. Thanks for taking a peek Robyn
  

Happy Birthday to You


Well that was relaxing for a change...go to do some colouring with the distress inks for this card. I created the soft blue background with Broken China Distress Inks and Perfect Pearl Mist and stamped the image in Charcoal to soften the colouring. And finished the card matting it on berry coloured card and a sentiment banner. I'm playing along with the palette at ColourQ #255. Thanks for taking a peek Robyn

Friday 22 August 2014

Merry Christmas


Happy Friday friends....and see below who is outside my window as I type this post...I'll be quick so I can go feed him. Today I spent a lazy afternoon putting together my card for the Merry Monday #122 challenge - I found some gold embossed wrapping paper and some designer paper with silver snowflakes  and then my Merry Christmas ornament stamp and decided to die cut an oval and a circle in my top card and place the papers behind them. Then I cut out the stamped image so I could raise that on foam dots. I dressed up the ornaments with some bling and a die cut shape (which is really the waste from a fancy doiley). I matted it in black and finished the card with a couple of sprigs of black die cut holly.  Thanks for taking a peek Robyn  off to feed Kooka now

Thursday 21 August 2014

Gift box

"More Than One Score" Challenge #7 - Food For Thought

Hi and hope you're enjoying your week. I've been finishing of my Gift Box for the Scor-pal #7 challenge and have made this box from an A4 sheet of card and thought to dress it up as a popcorn or lolly bag for a childs birthday party to run with the theme of 'Food for thought'.  I made one of those old fashion windmills we used to make as kids and attached it with a brad and then tied a tag with coloured twine.
Thanks for taking a peek Robyn

Happy Birthday

Some days you wonder where the mojo is sleeping and today it took me a bit to find mine but now very happy with my card, doubly as I'm not good with CAS.  I used my Spellbinders Gold Facets set to create the embossing on the card panel and stamped and embossed a swirly sentiment in khaki. Just a few gems to finish the card. I used the layout at CAS(E) this Sketch #88 and the theme and colours from The Card Concept 17 - I would call this design Clean and Simple. 
  Thanks for taking a peek Robyn
  

Wednesday 20 August 2014

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday?


..in my opinion!Good afterrrrrooooon world... well that's sort of what Robin Williams said in the movie...what a shock and a wonderful actor sadly missed.  Here's my room when I opened the door this morning "Happy WOYWW #272 - could hardly get in the door - this photo doesn't look that messy at all but it was. Yesterday I was on a mission to finish the shelf unit just there in the front right....photos following.

Here's a close up of the desk...before I jumped to the shelf I was making that little gift box on the work pad with the directions on my laptop, just a few final bits before I post it. There's yesterday coffee cup  too and on the left my plastic worksheet and the glue and sponge I used on the shelf unit.
Now here's the shelf unit a few weeks ago as I started to scrap off the plastic woodgrain finish - it's just old chipboard underneath but I figured what the heck the kids left it and it was water affected but I had a plan....to kinda match it with the colourful drawers on my desk.


Finally I finished scraping and got it painted on Sunday. Hubby made me a new top and put a strip of molding around the top.
And yesterday I glued on some 12x12 scrapbook sheets that I picked up for 50 cents each. Not to worry that the front was much bigger than 12 inches so I offset the pages and maybe I'll add some chipboard letters or something and some knobs.
If you're a visitor and wondering why I'd want to post a messy desk on my blog please pop over to Julias Stamping Ground and read all about it...then join in and show us your workspace. Thanks to everyone who visited and left comments last week, now I'm off the visit some other desk snoopers now, so have a wonderful week, and thanks for taking a peek Robyn


Happy Birthday


Just Add Ink # 227 Chipboard

Challenge #109 - CAS

A Clean and Simple birthday card from me this afternoon.  I used the layout from Seize the Sketch STS#27 (sadly it's goodbye to this blog so thanks DT for all the inspiration) and Addicted to Stamps and More #109 are after a CAS card - I think it's pretty clean and simple but couldn't resist sponging the edges of the embossed background.  I mounted some panels of designer paper on a blue background and added a sentiment tag. Finished off the card with a painted chipboard heart/butterfly and some bling to play along with the Just Add Ink #227 challenge and Shopping Our Stash SOS#165.   Thanks for taking a peek Robyn